A MOBILE phone containing the numbers of some of football's biggest names has been stolen.

The thieves later rang the owner and demanded money for its return.

The numbers for Manchester United players such as Ryan Giggs, Mikael Silvestre and Louis Saha were in the mobile belonging to their acupuncturist Dr Ququian Xu which was taken from his clinic in Northenden.

Police said none of Dr Xu's clients had reported being harassed by the thieves.

It is thought some of the players will change their numbers anyway.

Dr Xu was called at his China Traditional Therapy Clinic in Palatine Road by a man demanding £500 to get the phone back.

Dr Xu said: "They rang me twice asking for money but I said no.

"I contacted all the players and told them someone had stolen my phone. They haven't called again."

A police spokesman said: "Police were called to a medical centre in Northenden following reports that a mobile phone had been stolen. Our enquiries are ongoing."

It is thought the thieves may not have known the phone contained the numbers of the famous football stars until they went through the address book.

The thieves went into the clinic posing as clients.

It was only after they had left that Dr Xu discovered his phone had been stolen.

A spokesman for Manchester United would only say: "This is a police investigation so we can't comment at the moment."